Z
ZenIsWhen
Guest
"I solemnly swear that I may or may not tell the truth ( and since there is
no oath or written record - I cannot be held liable for lying through my
teeth. ..)
so help me gawd!"
Rove offered for unsworn testimony
By Thomas Ferraro and Tabassum Zakaria 51 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House offered on Tuesday to make
President George W. Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, available to
congressional investigators but rejected Democratic demands he testify under
oath regarding the firings of U.S. attorneys.
In a letter to relevant members of Congress, White House counsel Fred
Fielding made clear he was not offering Rove and other aides to give sworn
testimony as had been requested.
"Such interviews would be private and conducted without the need for an
oath, transcript, subsequent testimony or the subsequent issuance of
subpoenas," Fielding wrote.
Democratic lawmakers described the offer as unsatisfactory, saying they
wanted the witnesses under oath. But they also said they would consider it
before formally responding.
"It is sort of giving us the opportunity to talk to them, but not giving us
the opportunity to get to the bottom of what really happened here," said
Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat. "In
that way, it is a pretty clever proposal."
Congressional committees plan to vote this week on whether to subpoena those
who refuse to testify. They are particularly interested in hearing from
Rove. A former aide to Rove was named to replace one of the prosecutors
fired last year.
The White House said Bush would address the issue at 5:45 p.m./2145 GMT when
he returned from Kansas City. Officials said Bush would reiterate his
support for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, after speaking to him by
phone earlier in the day, and call on Congress to accept Fielding's offer.
The fallout over the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys has triggered a
Democratic investigation over whether the action was politically motivated
and raised doubts about how long Attorney General Alberto Gonzales can
remain in his job.
A number of Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress calling for Gonzales
to step aside.
Scrambling to contain the damage, Fielding was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday
trying to arrange an agreement with the heads of the judiciary committees of
the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In addition to Rove, Fielding offered Bush's former White House counsel
Harriet Miers for interviews. Miers initially was blamed for coming up with
the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys after Bush's re-election in 2004.
Also offered by Fielding were deputy White House counsel William Kelley and
political adviser Scott Jennings.
"We believe that such interviews should be a last resort, and should be
conducted, if needed, only after Congress has heard from
Department of Justice officials about the decision to request the
resignations of the U.S. attorneys," Fielding wrote.
Critics charge the administration dismissed the prosecutors to make room for
its allies or because it felt some were too tough on Republicans and not
tough enough on Democrats.
Recently released documents showed the administration had considered firing
all the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys at the end of president's first term. But
later, according to the documents, dismissed just eight.
The documents also showed the U.S. attorneys were judged on such factors as
their effectiveness as well as their loyalty to the administration and
support of its initiatives.
no oath or written record - I cannot be held liable for lying through my
teeth. ..)
so help me gawd!"
Rove offered for unsworn testimony
By Thomas Ferraro and Tabassum Zakaria 51 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House offered on Tuesday to make
President George W. Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, available to
congressional investigators but rejected Democratic demands he testify under
oath regarding the firings of U.S. attorneys.
In a letter to relevant members of Congress, White House counsel Fred
Fielding made clear he was not offering Rove and other aides to give sworn
testimony as had been requested.
"Such interviews would be private and conducted without the need for an
oath, transcript, subsequent testimony or the subsequent issuance of
subpoenas," Fielding wrote.
Democratic lawmakers described the offer as unsatisfactory, saying they
wanted the witnesses under oath. But they also said they would consider it
before formally responding.
"It is sort of giving us the opportunity to talk to them, but not giving us
the opportunity to get to the bottom of what really happened here," said
Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat. "In
that way, it is a pretty clever proposal."
Congressional committees plan to vote this week on whether to subpoena those
who refuse to testify. They are particularly interested in hearing from
Rove. A former aide to Rove was named to replace one of the prosecutors
fired last year.
The White House said Bush would address the issue at 5:45 p.m./2145 GMT when
he returned from Kansas City. Officials said Bush would reiterate his
support for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, after speaking to him by
phone earlier in the day, and call on Congress to accept Fielding's offer.
The fallout over the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys has triggered a
Democratic investigation over whether the action was politically motivated
and raised doubts about how long Attorney General Alberto Gonzales can
remain in his job.
A number of Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress calling for Gonzales
to step aside.
Scrambling to contain the damage, Fielding was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday
trying to arrange an agreement with the heads of the judiciary committees of
the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In addition to Rove, Fielding offered Bush's former White House counsel
Harriet Miers for interviews. Miers initially was blamed for coming up with
the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys after Bush's re-election in 2004.
Also offered by Fielding were deputy White House counsel William Kelley and
political adviser Scott Jennings.
"We believe that such interviews should be a last resort, and should be
conducted, if needed, only after Congress has heard from
Department of Justice officials about the decision to request the
resignations of the U.S. attorneys," Fielding wrote.
Critics charge the administration dismissed the prosecutors to make room for
its allies or because it felt some were too tough on Republicans and not
tough enough on Democrats.
Recently released documents showed the administration had considered firing
all the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys at the end of president's first term. But
later, according to the documents, dismissed just eight.
The documents also showed the U.S. attorneys were judged on such factors as
their effectiveness as well as their loyalty to the administration and
support of its initiatives.
